Government Quality Assurance (GQA)

Government Quality Assurance (GQA) is the application of government quality-management principles to give assurance that contracted materiel, services and related quality systems conform to the contract. In practice, it is government activity that verifies a contractor's product, service or quality system against the technical and contractual requirements.

In Canada, GQA is closely associated with Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) procurement. It is carried out by the Director of Quality Assurance or a designated Quality Assurance Representative (QAR), and it appears as a set of clauses in defence solicitations posted on CanadaBuys.

How DND policy defines GQA

DND's Defence Administrative Order and Directive (DAOD) 3009-0, Quality of Materiel and Services, states that the application of quality-management principles by DND and the CAF constitutes GQA. The policy is the foundation for the quality clauses that suppliers see in defence tenders. Read it at DAOD 3009-0.

CanadaBuys buyer guidance treats GQA as part of defining a procurement requirement, alongside quality assurance, quality control and inspection. Client departments are responsible for stating their GQA requirements clearly in the requisition or attached technical documentation. That statement must identify the inspection authority and the point of inspection. The CanadaBuys standards and quality assurance guidance also says the level of GQA depends on the contract's technical requirements and the offeror's performance history.

What GQA clauses ask for in a solicitation

Canadian solicitations can specify several GQA elements:

• the quality standard against which compliance will be verified;
• a requirement to establish and maintain a quality-assurance system;
• proof that products or services conform to the contract;
• government verification, inspection, testing or audit;
• inspection at the contractor's, subcontractor's or external provider's facility;
• inspection at installation or destination; and
• samples such as pre-award, first-off, pre-production, qualification or sealed samples.

A defence request for proposal such as W8485-247842 states that GQA may take place at the contractor's or subcontractor's facility and at the installation site. Related terms in these documents include Quality Assurance Authority (QAA), quality management system, conformity and government quality audit.

What suppliers must provide to the QAR

Where a contract includes GQA, the contractor supports the QAR's work. Defence solicitations require the contractor to provide the access, accommodation, facilities, equipment and assistance needed to perform evaluations, verifications, validations, documentation or product release. They also give the QAR an unrestricted opportunity to evaluate the supplier's conformity with its quality-system procedures and to validate product conformity with the contract.

Access extends beyond the prime contractor. A CanadaBuys defence solicitation for a rear axle requirement requires access to contractor, subcontractor and lower-tier external-provider sites where the work is performed, and it requires the contractor to make necessary validation equipment available.

Flow-down and the contractor's own responsibility

When the QAR determines that GQA is required at a subcontractor or external provider, the contractor must flow the applicable GQA requirements down through purchasing documents or other documented means. The contractor must also notify the QAR of non-conforming products or services received from a subcontractor or external provider where that product or service was subject to GQA. A DND vehicle components solicitation sets out these obligations.

GQA does not replace the supplier's own quality assurance. A naval galley statement of work states that GQA does not relieve the contractor or its subcontractors of their own quality-assurance responsibilities.

What GQA means for a supplier bidding on Canadian contracts

Read the quality clauses before you price. Identify the QAA, the inspection authority and the point of inspection, and confirm whether inspection will occur at your site, a subcontractor's site or the destination. Check that your subcontractors will accept QAR access and the flow-down of GQA requirements, and plan for any samples the solicitation calls for. Because the level of GQA reflects performance history, a clean record of conforming deliveries supports your position on future bids.